Some Heros Wear Capes
by 2fruity4u
Summary: Vlad is a science teacher at Casper High and a technical engineer with Fenton Industries, one of the leading technology companies in the world. As if he wasn't already stretched to the breaking point he has his godson, Danny, to look after and he moonlights hero work as Vlad Plasmius, Amity's controversial hero.
1. Chapter 1

"Hm…" Vlad poked around in the main control panel for the fenton's new ghost portal.

"What?" Danny peeked over his shoulder trying to pick out what his godfather was looking at.

"Nothing… that's the problem. Everything is in place. I triple checked it and it should work."

They both glanced at the dead hole in the wall as if it would just spring to life. However they were having no such luck.

"Mom and Dad haven't stopped working on this in months. We have to get it working soon." Danny hated when his parents got like that, it was like everything dropped away from their attention except for whatever they were working on. It was lonely.

"Don't worry little badger. We will. If we could do it once we can do it again." He started tracing the circuits again, looking for dead ends. Vlad knew how Maddie and Jack could be but there wasn't much he could do when they were like that. He just did his best to get them through whatever their newest obsession was.

"I'm gonna go look inside again." Danny declared after a few moments.

"Alright, just put on your hazmat suit. You don't want to end up like me, do you?"

"A science teacher? I think I'd rather die." Danny replied dramatically as he zipped up his suit.

He was very lucky that Vlad didn't have anything good to throw at him. Because physics was the only teaching tool he needed in that case.

He focused on the circuits in front of him, puzzling out what was wrong. This he was good at, it just came naturally to him. That was why he usually ended up double checking Maddie and Jack's work. Jack came up with the idea, Maddie built the prototype, and Vlad made sure the design made sense from an engineering standpoint before they came up with a finished model.

They made a good team.

Most of the time.

This was one of those rare occasions where they rushed through the mockup stage without consulting him, and now he was having to poke around in a finished product.

"I think I found the problem. But I'll only tell you if you give me extra credit on tomorrow's test." Danny said in a singsong voice.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "You know I can't do that Daniel, playing favorites is not allowed. If you wanted to write a three page paper on… say electric currents and how they work to power machines like the portal, I would give you that."

"Ew… no. I'll just fix it myself."

Suddenly Vlad heard an audible click followed by a kind of whirring he could never forget.

It was working, it was actually working! He turned around with a grin, ready to congratulate his godson but the praise died on his lips as it felt like someone injected ice water into his veins.

Danny was standing in the middle of the portal. Not, outside it but in it.

The teen seemed to be mesmerized by the lights starting to glow around him. Then all at once the portal flashed on and all that could be heard was his screams.


	2. Chapter 2

p dir="ltr"Vlad was no stranger to hospitals, he seemed to end up here quite frequently. Today was notable however because he had a roommate. One he was responsible for bringing here. He glanced over to the other bed where Danny was still unconscious. He bore no signs of an ectoplasmic infection like he, himself was obviously dealing with. The glowing and scarred visage was one Vlad had donned time and again. Ecto acne was the name the doctors used. It went into remission and then came back, forcing him to spend a week or so in the care of others every few months. However this episode unlike most of his others had a traceable cause./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Vlad had acted without thinking, exposing himself to unreasonable amounts of radiation without any form of protection. He knew he was lucky to be alive… or somewhat alive… but the moment he saw Danny in that portal there had been no other course of action. He had quite literally flown across the room and dragged Danny out of there. For a few moments he had been terrified that it had killed the boy but it hadn't. Danny was alright. Or, he would be. Vlad took another look at Danny's face and nodded to himself. No glowing, no sign that… that this would be the same. Danny would be normal which was good. Vlad hated himself for hoping for any other outcome. Danny was human and whole./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Danny was also waking up./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""H… wha…?"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""It's okay Daniel." Vlad croaked. He hoped that his voice wouldn't worry him even more./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Uncle Vlad?" Danny's eyes opened and he found Vlad right away. "What's… oh geez… you look like shit."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Language Daniel." Vlad was quick to admonish him. "I'll be fine. You should be worrying about yourself."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Yeah, yeah. I know what happened to me… That part is… uh… crystal clear." Danny grimaced but rushed to continue when he saw Vlad pale. "But I feel fine! Great even! What happened to you?"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Well someone had to pull you out of the portal my boy." Vlad replied dryly./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Oh shi-crap…" Danny sighed in exasperation. "Sorry."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""A for effort, though I'd say you'd only get a C for execution." Vlad said with the hint of a smile. At least he had made an effort. "This isn't the first time my illness has made a reappearance and I doubt it will be the last. I'll recover, the ectoplasm just seems to have triggered it. Let this be a lesson to you in lab safety." His expression then turned serious. "How are you feeling? The doctors think that you won't have any lasting health effects like I do, thanks in part to the suit you were wearing. You aren't showing any of the initial side effects of ecto acne but…" Vlad trailed off, looking worried./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""I… honestly I feel great." Danny sat up and Vlad's frown deepened. "I mean it hurt like hell but you told me when you have episodes you feel really weak and sick to your stomach right? I don't feel anything like that."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Thank god." Vlad let his head rest back against the pillow. Danny probably knew more about his illness than anyone else, when he was younger the Fentons often visited him in the hospital and Danny was the only one that tended to stick around for long stretches of time. "If you had to deal with this… I would never forgive myself."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Awe don't be like that." Danny's tone was light. "I'm fine, besides it was totally my fault."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""I let you help with a large scale portal… it's completely my fault." Vlad grumbled./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""I bothered you until you let me, and I was the idiot that-" he broke into laughter so suddenly that Vlad jumped "that pushed the on button!"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""The… there was an on button? Where?!" Vlad sat up quickly and regretted the action at once. He braced an arm against the bed rail and stared at Danny./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""On the wall." Danny was still laughing. "Inside the portal!"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Sweet sugar honey iced tea I am going to kill those two!" Vlad's whisper turned into a hoarse shout. "Inside the portal… this is what they get when they don't have me double check their plans!" He groaned and laid back down. "I love your parents, I really do… but butter brickle that has to be the worst thing they have ever done."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Where are dear old Mom and Dad right now?" Danny asked, looking around as if they might appear./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""They were here earlier but they had to go stabilize the portal. Keep the connection from breaking and all that."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Oh… right. Yeah." Danny sounded every bit as disappointed as Vlad knew he would. They weren't intentionally neglectful. They just got carried away sometimes. It was probably part of the reason Danny spent so much time around him. Not much to do when you spent half your life in the hospital, it made Vlad not only a captive audience but a reliable person to go to./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Well I don't know about you but I could go for some food. I'm going to give you a pro tip, that red call button? Room service, or as close as we'll get here."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Danny chuckled in spite of his sudden bad mood./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Subpar room service it is."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"The next few days were uneventful, Vlad taught his classes via a webcam, a system he had devised with the higher ups when he was first hired due to his fluctuating health. Danny was let out after one day with no ill effects and Vlad thanked every deity out there that he seemed to be fine. He did still come to visit Vlad after class though, which he appreciated./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"It was on the third day that something new happened. Danny was working on an assignment in a chair not too far from him when Vlad's ghost sense went off, a small wisp of red steam escaping his mouth. He sat up at once and his eyes darted over to Danny. He didn't notice a thing, oblivious as always./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Vlad eased himself out of the hospital bed, deftly detaching himself from the array of machines he was hooked up to./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Danny did look up then. "What's up?"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Bathroom, feeling sick." He mumbled./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Oh, you want me to get someone or…" He set down his homework and stood up, looking concerned./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""No, no it's fine. I just need a few minutes." Vlad said quickly as he strode over to the bathroom./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"As soon as the door was closed and locked he closed his eyes and focused on the center of his being, where the steam had come from. He focused on bringing that part of himself forward and suddenly there was a flash of light. A ring appeared around his waist and split in two, traveling over his body to reveal something else entirely. His skin turned even more pale, his blue eyes lit up a toxic green, and his silver hair changed to jet black. He took on an otherworldly glow and the rings disappeared. Where Vlad Masters had just been standing was now Plasmius, self appointed defender of Amity Park./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"He only took a second to look in the mirror before flying into the hall to find the source of his ghost sense. He didn't have to look far, at the other end of the hall was a ghost that looked to be a child, sniffling as she sat in the corner./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Vlad relaxed out of his battle stance and sighed. This happened more often than he liked, but well he spent half his life in a hospital. Death was a constant here. He walked over to the child and knelt down next to her. "Hey there." He said gently and she looked up, fear written all over her face. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help. My name is Plasmius. What's yours?"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"The little girl sniffled again before answering. "S-Sally."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"He smiled softly. "Nice to meet you Sally. What can I help you with?"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""I'm scared and lost and… and I don't 'member where I'm supposed to be."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Vlad nodded. That was usually how it went. "Well Sally, you're in luck, I just so happen to know someone that can take care of you until you do remember. How does that sound?"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"She looked uncertain for a moment but then nodded./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Wonderful. I'll call them right now, and they can come and meet you."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Vlad pulled out a cellphone he kept specifically for his ghost half. A lot of ghosts just wanted to fight but once in a while one just needed help. He had found ghosts who looked after cases like this, a motherly ghost who took in others who had lost their human memory and needed to be cared for until it all came back. Most of them were children, it seemed that the younger the ghost the more likely memory loss was to occur. "Hey, Plasmius here. I have a girl here that could use some help. Mhm, no she remembers her name. Yes, Sally. I'll activate the portal, do you think you could hurry? I shouldn't necessarily be… about right now but I'm going to stay with her until help arrives. Thanks, bye." He ended the call and then sat down next to Sally./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""So Sally, how old are you? If you can remember." He asked./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"She seemed to think about that for a moment. "This many." She held up four fingers and Vlad smiled again, but inside he felt nothing but sorrow. Four she was only four. This poor child./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""How many are you?" She asked in return./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Hm… too many." He chuckled. "I don't have enough fingers for that."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Wow." She nodded. "That's a lot."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""It sure is." He agreed./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Suddenly another ghost appeared in front of them and the girl jumped./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Oh dear, you weren't exaggerating. She's quite young." The woman had curly red hair and a kind face. "Hello Sally dear, I'm Penelope. I'll be helping you for now if that's okay."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"Sally nodded again. "S'Kay."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Right." She helped Sally stand up and then picked her up when it was obvious she wasn't up to walking./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""And you." Penelope became stern. "You shouldn't be doing anything but going back to bed. I don't care how many ghosts walk past your door, get some rest before you burn yourself out Plasmius."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Will do." Vlad replied weakly, pushing himself to a standing position. "You take care, and take care of my new friend here, okay?"/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""I will, now go be a good patient or so help me the next ghost you will have to deal with will be me."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""Yes ma'am." He walked back to his door and phased back to the bathroom. When he transformed back he nearly fainted. Such was the danger of using his powers during a relapse. Though really, what was he supposed to do?/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"He hobbled back out of the bathroom and Danny yelped, dropping his work and running over to help support him. "I'm getting a doctor. You look awful."/p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr""No… 'm fine. Just need some rest." Vlad mumbled as Danny helped him back onto the bed. Some rest sounded good. He let his eyes drift closed the second he laid back and he was out./p 


	3. Chapter 3

"-Par for the course with his condition. There are always several regressions before he comes out of it."

Vlad drifted back up to the waking world after what seemed like a long stretch of time. He didn't open his eyes quite yet, he could tell something was going on and it seemed everyone was more likely to talk openly about his condition when they assumed he couldn't hear them.

"We are aware of his past episodes, as well as the patterns but this one is taking a toll on him, more so than his typical cases. The electricity from the accident seems to have weakened him and his heart is falling into dysrhythmia too often." Vlad guessed that was the doctor in charge of the unit right now.

"You don't know him like I do. He'll pull through this, he always does. Just give him some time and it will clear up." Maddie Fenton said confidently.

"Mom… I don't know about this one… he looked bad, worse than I can remember…" Danny piped up, sounding truly worried. "He looked… bad. Really bad."

"You never saw his initial episode." Maddie replied. "That was much worse. All this worrying isn't going to help him recover. He just needs time."

"Be that as it may, the exposure he faced without a suit couldn't have helped him. Seeing as this is the tenth day with no change I urge you as his next of kin to start considering your options. He may not come out of his comatose state."

Vlad had heard enough. He grabbed his cell phone and typed out a message to Danny, certain that he would have his on.

TXT TO Littlebadger: You know, studies show comatose patients can still hear just fine. If you're already making funeral arrangements I request a green and gold coffin.

He heard the resulting ding out in the hall and a gasp. Danny tore into the room with wide eyes and Vlad chuckled. "Looks like you've seen a ghost." His voice was weak from disuse but Danny seemed to hear it alright. He raced over to the bed and hugged Vlad. "Hey, it's okay little badger, I just needed a nap. Sorry I took so long. I'll set an alarm next time."

Maddie and the doctor appeared behind him. "Good to see your eyes open for a change Vlad." Maddie smiled, and no matter how much she had reassured others that he would be just fine, Vlad could read the relief in her eyes that told him she was just as worried as Danny.

"Glad to be back among the living, figuratively speaking of course." Vlad added the second part quickly, it wouldn't do to insinuate he had been dead at some point or another. The last thing he needed was someone working out what he was.

Danny let out a half sob, have laugh.

"Shh, it's okay Danny, really. I'm made out of tougher stuff than whatever was messing with me. I feel completely better now, really." Of course he wouldn't have been bad in the first place if he had just stayed in bed. Vlad supposed it was an occupational hazard.

"R-Right…" Danny stood up and gave him a watery smile. "Happy to have you back uncle V."

"So, what's the diagnosis? I heard something about my heart not wanting to work right. If that's all I should be good to go in a few days right?" Vlad asked with an attempt at levity.

"I'm afraid not. You may have woken up but we are going to need to make sure you are stable first, as you well know." The doctor replied, all the doctors knew him well enough at this point to know he tried to leave as soon as he could stand.

"Right. How long am I in for then?" Vlad asked with a sigh.

"Two weeks, provided you don't have another episode."

"Fudge buckets. Could I get away with a week? I have a field trip planned… wait what day is it?"

"The twenty third." Maddie supplied.

"Never mind I don't have a field trip." He sighed. "The director of Axiom is going to be happy with me when I talk to him." Vlad had fought tooth and nail to get a trip approved for his advanced physics class. It was going to be hell to get it rescheduled.

"I'll talk to him." Maddie volunteered. "He has a hard time saying no to the Fentons."

"Maddie you know how I feel about that." Vlad said.

"One time deal, I promise. It's the least I can do for putting your life in danger over our pet project."

"It's the least you can do aside from paying my rent, medical bills, and keeping me employed outside of my low paying teaching job you mean." Vlad deadpanned.

"Yes, aside from those small things of course." Maddie said with a hint of a smile.

It was a constant tug of war with them. They wanted to provide for Vlad's every want and need with their obscene wealth and influence. He refused to take them up on it most of the time. His rent and medical bills were his pay for being Daniel's personal tutor, he refused to take a regular paycheck seeing just how much he owed the hospital, even if his apartment was in the bad part of town it was a lot to help one kid with homework, let alone a kid he would have helped for free.

"I have to finish my rounds but I'll have someone in to get your vitals soon." The doctor said before leaving.

"Oh by the way Vlad…" Maddie started sheepishly. "About your apartment…"

His attention snapped back to her. "What about it?" He asked.

"Well your lease is up in a few days and they're looking to double the rate so I was thinking of moving you into one of the properties we own, you know, just to cut costs."

Vlad frowned. It sounded reasonable but there was always something outrageous about it. "You aren't putting me up in some rich condo are you? Because we talked about this already Maddie-"

"No, not at all. I promise, we aren't out anything for it. We already own the area and it's well within what a teacher could afford… well perhaps a well paid teacher… but it's not posh."

"Right…" Vlad sighed. "I suppose I don't have much choice in the matter."

"Vlad you always have a choice. We won't force you to go anywhere else. You can stay in your apartment."

"For double the rent? When you have a place set aside you don't have to pay on? Like hickory smoked ham I can. Why don't I just rob you here and now?"

"So you'll take the new place?" Maddie asked with a grin.

"Of course I will. You knew I would."

"Great, we already had everything moved! It would have been a stretch to get it all back like you left it before you came home."

Vlad rolled his eyes. "You know if you weren't one of my best friends I'd call the cops on you."

"Well if that's how you feel about it…" Maddie hefted a cat carrier into sight. "I suppose we should just let the pet sitter take care of this one, huh?"

"You smuggled Jack in!" Vlad gasped.

Maddie opened the door and a rather pathetic looking tabby cat jumped out onto Vlad's lap. He was small and had obviously had a hard life, with only three legs and a notch out of his ear. Despite these things there was an aura of happiness that left no one in doubt that he was well very cared for. The cat purred loudly and situated himself next to Vlad's shoulder.

"Smuggled is the wrong word." Maddie said.

"Yeah, bribed would be better." Danny added.

"Danny, I did not bribe anyone." Maddie said sternly.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry. You gave the hospital a charitable grant to research the benefits of animals in long term care… or something like that."

Vlad chuckled. "You bribed them. But I can't find it in me to be mad about this one."

"Right." Maddie grabbed the empty cat carrier. "Well I have to get back home. We're running some tests on the portal this afternoon, if all goes well we might be able to actually capture an image of the ghost dimension! We will probably be busy for the next few weeks with incremental tests. Just call the chauffeur when you're discharged and he'll take you to your new place." She left without another word.

"Annnnd she's gone." Danny sighed.

"You have to hand it to her, it's the longest she's stayed in the room in years." Vlad said.

"Yeah, only because they thought you were gonna kick the bucket. Dad didn't even show."

"I know. They're just-"

"Busy." Danny finished. "I know. I'm gonna go get a snack." He turned heel and left.


End file.
